Why I serve: Elizabeth Keys

Why JLW?

My grandmother always says that you can tell what a person values by her checkbook and her calendar.  If I look at mine, I see a board meeting here, a Resolution Read shift there; I see a Centennial Frame Shop contribution here, a Tossed & Found Community Cash Card donation there.  But of all the great organizations around, why do I choose JLW?

Simple:  because JLW changes lives.  Period.  Have you ever seen a Langley Residential Support Services consumer’s face light up when he sees his favorite JLW volunteer?  Have you ever watched a kid at National Book Festival when a JLW member moves her through the book signing line to meet her favorite author? Have you ever visited with the senior who says visiting with the JLW IONA Senior Services committee members who deliver his meals on Saturday is the highlight of his week?   

Have you ever seen the pride a child takes in the book of her very own that a JLW volunteer gives her to take home?  We change lives.

Have you ever watched a friend hone her skills by chairing a JLW committee?  Have you ever taken on a project for JLW that allowed you to try something new?  Have you ever developed a deep relationship with a woman who was on a committee with you?  Have you ever learned something at a Development & Training session that you used at home or work?  We change lives.

I give my time and money to JLW because I know that we, you and I together, change lives.  We change lives in our community, and we change each other’s lives.  Because of JLW, I have given grants, I have written press releases, I have taken golf lessons, I have hugged children, I have crafted strategic plans, I have learned self defense techniques, I have given away books, I have met the Treasurer of the United States, I have made wonderful friends, I have raised money, I have planted an herb garden, I have learned literacy facts, I have picked merchants for Holiday Shops, I have read students’ poems.  I have received a hefty return on every hour I have volunteered and every dollar I have donated.  JLW changes lives.  It has certainly changed mine.

We have included here hyperlinks that will direct readers to information on Resolution Read, Tossed & Found and the Centennial Frame Shop.  For more information on how to support JLW, please click here or contact us at office@jlw.org.

Elizabeth Keys
JLW Secretary, 2012/2013